HelL-A: Part 1

I'm not one of those people who requests a window seat on a flight and who looks out and oohs and aahs and gets all excited when you can see the grid of a city, or even the grand canyon (zzzzz). ..I'm the exact opposite. I ask for the aisle seat as far up front as I can, so when the time comes I can get off the plane as fast as possible. Upon arriving in LA, I was rudely awakened by the young, doily knitting Christians who were sitting beside me, telling me to "Look at your new city" (I'd made the mistake of talking to one of them, which just turned into her preaching at me for a bit until I had to cut her off) So, since I was already awake I cranked my neck to overlook the right side of the plane and honestly I couldn't see anything. There was smog. Pilots must feel like they are landing in an endless fog when they touch down in LAX. The ride home from the airport was the obvious answer for the greenish, yellowish, white(ish?) clouds that hover over the city. I'd seen big freeway's before-San Francisco's Bay Bridge, Oregon, New York City, Dallas (cringe), but I'd never seen anything 14 lanes before. Mind you, 14 lanes with bumper to bumper traffic. The next day I forced myself to just get in the car and drive. This town is purely a car culture and if I have the choice of sinking or swimming, well I just might as well drive.

FUCK THE IRS

FUCK THE IRS, FUCK CARS, and the ice age is coming....

Will a tent save us?

I just made an investment. I've been meaning to for a long time now and finally decided to do it all in one day at one store. One blow to the bank account that I'm sure will be put to lots of good use. Maybe one day it will even serve as our house?

There's this great discount 'Outdoor' store here in Monterey called Outdoor World. After cruising around there for a few minutes I was approached by an obviously intoxicated employee-comb over, booze-breath, super magnified glasses, greasy gentleman-he didn't really help me, but thanks all the same, man.

I've always wanted a cast iron skillet, but have been scared to buy one from a thrift store because I'm afraid of it's past-bacon grease, hamburgers, dead chicken goo, etc. So I found a brand new one today for $10. I get to season it myself and even burn off the post production wax! It sounds like quite the process, but I'm ready to learn-now I just have to find a grill, hummmmm....

So here's the tent.
and here's the sleeping bags! They both are pretty rad. I wanted to green tent, to you know, blend in with my hopefully green surroundings. I'm ready to take on the wilderness. wooooo-hooooo.
Wanna go camping?

Animal Friends Rescue Project

Even though I am juggling upwards of 4 jobs at the moment, I still have found a few hours a week to work at a wonderful No Kill animal shelter in Pacific Grove called Animal Friends Rescue Project. Animal Friends rescues dogs, cats, bunnies, etc. who are at the highest risk of being put to death. There are a lot of older animals, injured animals, and animals with special needs and unique personalities. All of the animals who are rescued are cared for until they are adopted. Even if it takes years to adopt an animal, it will never simply be deemed 'un-adoptable'. When I first got settled here in Monterey, CA I immediately wanted to start getting involved in all the fascinating community programs they have here. For a short period of time I considered volunteering at the Monterey County ASPCA-but when I got the application for volunteer work I hesitated. The application was full of what seemed to be screenings for people who might have an opposition to euthanasia. I of course only believe in the killing of an animal if deemed completely necessary i.e. they are suffering physically or mentally. I just couldn't see myself getting on board with a organization that kills a large number of the animals that they are called upon to shelter. So after a little searching around I found animal friends, located in downtown Pacific Grove, CA.
So far in the month that I have been volunteering I've got the opportunity to work at the adoption center talking with the public about the animals, feeding and playing with cats (only a couple months ago I was terrified of cats and wouldn't go near them), transporting dogs to their overnight kennels, and have witnessed two beautiful animals adoptions. Last week Scout got adopted by a young couple with lots of energy. And just today I helped a lady adopt this sweetheart of a cat, Margo.
I've got to say that this job has warmed my heart and brought me closer to the animals. California has really changed my life for the better and I can only hope for bigger and better things to come. Hearts!

Arbonne

Arbonne: This company is simply amazing. Sarah, a really great lady that I met while working at Chez Hay in Lincoln, Nebraska got me interested in this. All their products are purely botanical and have proved to be amazing. I've officially made the switch over to completely vegan skin/hair/body products and I'm feeling greater than ever.
If you are considering going this route I would highly recommend supporting this company-they are one of the first in the field and have been around for quite a while. It just makes sense people! Why would you want to rub dead animals on your skin-when you can instead utilize all these wonderful plant based alternatives.

PLANTS...YUM!

My parents visit California!

The Keyhole to your soul. We found this gem of a beach after taking a one-way road for nearly 2 miles.

Redwood's like these make Big Sur one of the greatest places I've ever been.

These tide pools were pretty calm compared to the crashing wrath of the sea located directly behind them. Tourists were going crazy over these wind driven white waves.

Here's a whalebone graveyard. There was a sign that assured the public that this whale had not been killed by human's, but had instead washed up on shore. Too bad whale's don't hunt people...Also, notice the rib bones in relation to the huge anchor.

Check out the denim cuffs and patches on this old diving suit at the whale station!

Here's good ole John Milligan's famous pose at Point Lobos

Tomato Dill Lentil Soup, Eat Drink and Be Vegan

Tomato Dill Lentil Soup (Eat, Drink and Be Vegan)

1.5 tbsp olive oil
2 cups diced onions
1.5 cups diced celery
4 cloves minced garlic
2.5 tsp dill seeds
.5 tsp cumin/cumin seeds
2.5 ground mustard
1.5 sea salt
some groud black pepper
1 can crused tomatoes
2 cups lentils (any kind, we used green french lentils)
2 cups vegetable stock/water
5.5 cups water
1.5 tbsp tamari/soy sauce
1 tbsp molasses/agave
2 dried bay leaves
2-3 tbsp fresh dill/or you could use dried dill

In soup pot over medium heat add oil, onions, celery, garlic, dill seeds, cumin, ground mustard, salt, and pepper and stir to combine. Cover and cook for 4 min. Then add tomatoes, lentils, vegetable stock, water, tamari/soy sauce, molasses/agave, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and then let cook on med-low heat for an hour. If soup is too thick add a little water. Use fresh dill as a garnish for full effect.

Make this tonight! It's sure to warm you up (if in Nebraska) and satisfy you anywhere really...

Best Vegan Cookies Ever

Brett surprised me with these on Valentine's Day and I've been addicted to them ever since. If you are smart you will find a way to make these TODAY-even if there is a snowstorm, or if you just 'don't want to go out of the house', trust me it's worth it.
Note: things not to worry about in this recipe:
1. don't worry about making vanilla sugar-regular sugar will do-just use a little more vanilla extract.
2. Use soy creamer, or frothed up soy milk instead of soy yogurt-
3. parchment paper might help but you don't really need it to make these.
4. DO NOT OVERMIX-mix just until combined!

YUM


Vegan Balsamic Fudge Drops
(adapted from Habeas Brûlée)

Balsamic vinegar is the secret ingredient, but the only sign it's there is the deeper, richer taste it gives these cookies.

1 cup unbleached white flour (or use gluten-free baking flour)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons Earth Balance margarine
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup soy yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (see Note)
Vanilla sugar (I did this the quick way by pulverizing a vanilla bean with sugar in my blender)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

Mix the flour, soda, and salt together and set aside. In another bowl, mix the cocoa with the sugars and set aside.

Melt the margarine in a medium-sized saucepan. When it is completely melted, take it off the heat and add the sugar/cocoa mixture and stir to combine. Then add the soy yogurt, vanilla extract, and balsamic and stir until mixed. Finally, add the flour mixture and stir just until it's combined—don't over-mix.

Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon, drop tablespoons of the dough onto the baking sheets about 1 1/2-inches apart. Sprinkle lightly with vanilla sugar, and place them in the oven. After 5 minutes, switch the pans around so that the one on top is on the bottom and the front sides are in the back. Check again in 4 minutes. Be careful—depending on the type of pan you use, they can go from underdone to burned in seconds (I found out the hard way!) They shouldn't need more than 11 minutes and will look soft on top, but they'll harden as they cool.

Remove from the oven and transfer onto cooling racks. Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

In response to my email to the MBAquarium Restaurant

This is a tragic email that I got in response to an email sent to the food manager of the Monterey Bay Aquarium. My parents are coming to visit us on Thursday and of course want to go to the Aquarium-and although it's a beautiful place it also has a restaurant feet away from the tanks of beautiful fish-who serves these beautiful fish. Ok, so they really don't serve the actual fish from the Aquarium, but they might as well. My cynical idea when first going there and seeing this restaurant was that they should just have a clubbing station right then and there where you can go and club a sea otter, or stick a hook through a big delicious tuna, or even catch a sting ray with your bare hands from the 'exploration pool.' We live in a fucked up world and although the signs that litter the Aquarium pointing way to the restaurant that depict cartoon crabs, fish, oysters, etc. it's really all the same (tank or ocean or 'sustainable' fish farm) they all die either way. So back to the point of this story-I wanted to let the aquarium know that I was uncomfortable with their menu and their 'happy seafood' attitude. Because, really people, we all know the only animals that are happy are those that are alive. Here's the response I got that almost brought me to tears:

Hi Megan,

Thank you for your email of concern. I want to reassure you that the seafood we serve is from sustainable sources. We believe strongly in foodservice for a sustainable future and go to great efforts whether it is beef, pork, chicken or fish. We are increasing our vegetarian selections but are learning that a vegetarian based society is not only impractical but unsustainable. You can learn more about our initiatives at bamco.com

I look forward to the opportunity to continue this dialogue, please feel free to contact me at 831-648-4966 to discuss any concerns you may have about the foodservice here at the aquarium.

Best,

Dory Ford

Executive Chef

testing testing

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12 ladybug's at the ladybug picnic.

I've started this blog to share my thought's about everyday stupidity, cool shit, and my struggles and triumph's in California. and of course animals. and to post food stuffs.